Consumer Protection from Identity Theft

Consumer Protection from  Identity Theft

Became law 12/4/03

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 is intended to help consumer protect themselves against identity theft.  It gives consumers the right to a free credit report once a year, requires merchants to leave off all but the last five digits of a credit-card number on store receipts, creates a national system of fraud detection to increase the likelihood of apprehending identity thieves, establishes a nationwide system of fraud alerts for consumers to place on their credit files, requires regulators to devise a list of indicators of identity theft, and requires lenders and credit agencies to take action even before the victim knows a crime has occurred.